Menu

YouTube

If you look at the date of my last posting you will see that my once quite regular postings here have dwindled. Number of reasons for this. 1. I’ve started a new course and don’t have so much time and 2. The main one I start and go “Nah this is crappy” so this is where I think I’m going wrong.

1.Comparisons to our bestselling favourites

If you are an aspiring sportsman whilst you are aware of Lionel Messi you are also aware that although you might make the team, Lionel will always be a class apart, because he is a “once in a generation” type talent.

Why then do we (or me at least) compare ourselves to the masters of the art, Stephen King’s of the world. I have read numerous articles and books on how so and so Mr Bestseller wrote by candle light inside a cardboard Pringles tube, whilst his family lighted their own farts for warmth before his big break. He still writes in the pringles tube by the way, his family is a lot warmer and less smelly.

Whilst Mr Bestsellers approach obviously worked for him, he’s not you so cut yourself some slack. Otherwise it’ll put you off writing anything.

2. Devotion to the craft

Similar point, but… some are able to be “devoted to writing” writing 8-12 hours a day everyday. Some of us have families and bills to pay. Granted to write an 1800 page opus you are going to need time. But you have a lifetime. Write when you can, enjoy it. Enjoy life

3. Forgotten why we do it

I have always written. It’s been for me always, for fun. I would hope that even at the very top with contracts and book deals and movie screenplays it’s still fun. I started this blog to show people what I write, I welcome comments but I don’t really care what anyone thinks. It’s for me if anyone else likes it it’s a bonus. If they like it so much they’ll pay me to write it, happy days.

4.Meh, It’s been done

Everything has been done. Everything. That brand new fresh original is a copy at least in part of something else. There is even a very similar list to this somewhere in the world. As long as you don’t rip it off entirely, copy, rewrite, rephrase. Do it better, make the starcrossed lovers divorce, kill the good guy. “It’s your world” to quote Bob Ross, so write about a happy little tree.

5. The search for perfection

We all have standards for ourselves. Whilst these can encourage us to reach for the stars and be the best it can also encourage us to throw away a potential masterpiece. The beauty of being a blogger or “amateur” writer is that it doesn’t matter overly what you write. Get it done, get it out. You can always amend it later or it can serve as an inspiration for someone elses number 4!

If you’ve read the two previous blogs i’ve written this week (who hasn’t!) you’ll know I thought I’d give the battery of my loner Apple Watch a bit of an unscientific test. Now I love my iPhone. I’ve had jobs that made watching paint dry interesting, I still miss my colleagues at Dulux.

I have had jobs that have so much down time it’s lovely to be able to escape the tedium and play a game or email people. So over the years my iPhone’s battery has been known to be dead by the mid-morning.

Apparently I am “king of the notification” (this from a man who wants to live in a yurt) so Apple watch was gonna get a fair real world test.

It passed for two days use. It was down to 8 percent just before i got in my bath. So i put it on charge, it charges like magic with the things that take your heart readings doubling up as some power connectors. It’s witchcraft! There is a low power mode which you can activate to prolong things even further. (Like the teenage me trying to think of Bruce Forsyth squatting on a glass table…: sex joke)

Things of note. I reached one of my health targets. I was rewarded with a trophy that looks like an old 1980’s hob element. But yay trophy.

When you set a timer, (for my damn pizza) on the phone it vibrates the watch. Pretty cool if your phone is on silent and you’ve gone for a cheeky (insert vice here) No excuse for burnt anything anymore. Except crumpets… overdo those.. go-on.. then top with cheese.. try it.. go now..

I am quite outspoken on these here pages. At times I can be quite outspoken at football (Sorry Dave) and down the pub on the odd occasion I have had a few jars. That is basically it however. I don’t want or need for people to agree with me, like I am the messiah (not a naughty boy). Usually as long as people listen and provide a good reason as to why they don’t agree in conversation, it’s all gravy. Beefy tasting gravy.

I have been a meat eater, with vegetables for garnish for 35 years. My significant other has been a vegan for 4-5 months. I can’t be more specific as these days I seem to blink and lose weeks. She is a passionate person a huge plus in any relationship. So as she climbed aboard the good ship vegan I knew this was going to be no different. Strap yourself in Sudo I said. (Cos of course I refer to myself in third person by my blog name).

I fully support her dietary choice. I always will.

If she has a change of heart and wants to eat roasted penguin because of the health benefit I will be first to see if Amazon Prime covers shipping from Antarctica. I probably wouldn’t partake as I liked Pingu as a kid and there would be significant trauma.

My SO however is now “ethically vegan” which means she tries to live for the good of the planet, causing the least possible harm as she goes. Being passionate, she campaigns for others to live the same and even has her own fledgling YouTube channel, which is extremely well produced and researched, albeit from a vegan angle.

As a meat eater, there are some meats I won’t eat. Dog, Rabbit and (if it’s ok with Findus)Horse. They are pet animals in the UK and I have close personal connections with them. That said with the exception of Dogs I would be happy for others to eat Rabbit and Horse. Just like I’m happy vegans eat vegetables and beans.

This is speciesism. (She tells me)

Yes and I have no problem with that. Dogs mean more to me than most people. They should not be eaten. Cows are bred by humans to be eaten. So I do and they taste damn good. I value both dogs and cows for hugely different reasons. Reasons that are personal to me. I am told the vegan population of the earth is on the rise. I am delighted those people have made their own personal choice. All those people can even think I am wrong to live my life how I do. Do I care? No.

Living with a vegan has very few problems. We share much love and eat different stuff, we did that anyway. Finding somewhere to eat out is somewhat problematic.

Living with a vegan warrior, causing the least possible harm? For the most part I wish she’d just live and let live.

Randy and the Warrior.. She might look like this.. check out YouTube to be sure.